ACTION IS NOT POSSIBLE EXCEPT WITH KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

There can be no righteous deed in the absence of knowledge (‘ilm) and understanding of the law (fiqh), as ‘Umar ibn Abdul-Aziz (the grandson of ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab, and a righteous Khalifa) used to say:

“Whoever worships Allah without knowledge corrupts more than he benefits.”

And, as in the statement of Mu’adh ibn Jabal (a companion of the Prophet):

“Knowledge is the imam of action, and action is a corollary to it.”

This is obvious: intentions and actions which are not based on knowledge are ignorance and going astray, and following of hawaa, as we have said before. This is the difference between the people of Jahiliya, and the people of Islam. Thus, knowledge of the Ma’ruf and the Munkar are absolute necessities as are the ability to distinguish between them, and knowledge of the condition of those to be ordered and forbidden is also essential.

For optimum benefit, enjoining and forbidding should be performed on the Straight Path. The Straight Path is the shortest route, and the one which leads to the attainment of the sought-after goal.